In the editorial, "Should they get the Death Penalty?", the author brings up an interesting question of whether rapists and child molesters should receive the death penalty. Should we be expected to live amongst rapists and child molesters? Absolutely not. We should fully expect them to be properly punished by our justice system. Now, do they deserve the death penalty? In my opinion, no.
Let me begin by saying that I am not against the death penalty for certain crimes. I believe Ted Bundy and Timothy McVeigh rightfully deserved to be executed. They both committed absolutely heinous crimes, and they both proved that they could not function properly in society. They could not be reformed, and they would kill again, no doubt about it.
The author of this blog brings up the bill known as Jessica's Law, and the author contends that it is not sufficient. I disagree, and there are certain issues here that need to be cleared up.
First of all, according to my research, Jessica's Law provides a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison. We should keep in mind that this is only the minimum sentence, and offenders will most likely be sentenced for a longer amount of time depending on the crime.
Jessica's Law also provides provisions such as all offenders are required to be monitored for life with a GPS tracking device. The law also creates a 2,000 foot “predator-free” zone around schools and parks to prevent sex offenders from living near where our children learn and play. Offenders are required to serve their entire sentence and can not be released on good behavior.
Jessica's Law provides adequate punishment, and it is also a huge improvement from previous laws. For example, in Rhode Island, Josh Maciorski was convicted of having sex with a 13-year-old girl, but was only sentenced to probation. Two years later he molested a 14-year-old girl and served only one year in prison. When he was released, Maciorski raped a 16-year-old girl. Incredibly, he was only sentenced for 3 years in prison after that crime. In Missouri, Darrell Jackson pleaded guilty to repeatedly sexually abusing a little girl, beginning when she was only eight years old. But when Jackson came up for sentencing, a soft judge gave him four months in prison and five years probation.
In my opinion, the death penalty is not the right call for these kinds of crimes. Many people are not aware that financial costs to taxpayers for the death penalty is actually several times greater than that of keeping someone in prison for life. The death penalty would also not give these people a chance to reform themselves. People need to remember that prison is not enjoyable. Some argue that prison is a worse punishment than death because the pain is dragged out for many years, especially those serving life. Imagine living in a cage in an environment of hell for 25 years. That can definitely affect someone and encourage them to change their ways. They have a chance to reform themselves, and if they are released it will be almost impossible for them to offend again because of all of the provisions that come with Jessica's Law. In summation, I believe that Jessica's Law is sufficient, and the agony and humiliation of a prison sentence for a crime of this nature is more severe than the death penalty.
